H106 H107 War, Strategy and Politics — Book Review

Distinguished U.S. Marine Corps General (ret.) Zinni argues that the key to the U.S. military’s success in battle lies in a combination of strategic decisions and actions that occur off the battlefield and often before the battle begins. Zinni illustrates his primer on the basics of formulating national strategy with examples taken from more than 50 years of military and national security experience. His full-bore critique of presidential administrations is organized chronologically from Kennedy to Obama. In the course of his analysis, Zinni names names and makes some bold and controversial assertions (for example, the U.S. has been too quick to use military force in the past and most civilian politicians are not knowledgeable enough to make correct decisions regarding war or strategy without professional advice). He offers several solutions to the issues he raises, including the creation of a professional, civilian-led national security corps, and a complete legislative reorganization of the military’s administrative departments to force “whole of government” strategic approaches to solving problems of national security. Zinni insightfully criticizes the decision-making process behind our national strategy and makes recommendations worthy of consideration.

Ender’s Game: Tactics, Strategy, Training, and Critical Thinking in Science Fiction

Ender’s Game is a recognized sci-fi classic and my intent here is not to review it. There are over 2,000 positive reviews of it on Amazon (as well as over 60 negative reviews) and I encourage that all who are interested in the book graze over what the Amazon readers have opined. Despite the few very critical reviews, I found the book a quick, easy, and interesting read. I recommend it strongly to those interested in sci-fi in general, military sci-fi in particular, and training military leaders.

My interest in Ender’s Game is that it is a sci-fi novel that is mostly about training for battle. The actual war is wrapped up in the last 30 pages of the book. I think the important points that the book makes are about training; and the most important points about training that it makes are the importance of immersion in the training environment and the focus on creative solutions. It also makes the point that it is absolutely critical to focus on the development of individual leading and thinking skills. Acquiring knowledge, technical skills, and collective training are important but secondary educational requirements. The leader is the single point of failure in military endeavors. Knowledge, skill, and collective training mean little unless uniquely trained and exceptionally competent leaders employ soldiers and units correctly and most effectively. Ender’s Game makes the point that leaders make two vital contributions to military success: first, effective decision-making and second, maximizing the abilities and potential of subordinates.

The most intriguing aspect of the book is the use of simulation and technology to train critical and creative thinking and decision-making. Written in 1985, this book advocates many of the training characteristics I did in my article “Training Tactics in Virtual Reality” ten years later.

What I think is still frustrating is that, though the technology is there to support it, the military in general still has not made the leap to using technology to train individual thinking and decision making skills. Ender’s Game demonstrates that military sci-fi can be a creative inspiration for how we should be thinking about and using technology to make our military more effective.

Click here to go to Orson Scott Card’s Website.

Click here to see my article on training in virtual reality.

Book Review: A Chance In Hell

A short excerpt of my review of the new book that covers the actions of BG MacFarland’s brigade in Iraq:

A Chance in Hell is one of the most important books written thus far on Army operations in Iraq.  The lessons in the book will be obvious and important to lieutenants and captains as well as colonels and generals.  It describes the close relationship between company and platoon tactics, brigade operations, and regional and national strategy.  It clearly describes the tactics, techniques, and procedures  of  the population centric approach to counterinsurgency.  Michaels demonstrates the criticality of cultural understanding to success at all levels of COIN operations. Finally, and most important, the book  highlights the importance of leadership to tactical and operational success.  The tough decision making, and the inspiring example of the leaders of the “Ready First” brigade come through as the critical element in the brigade’s success; a success that was the operational tipping point in the war in Iraq. 

For more information on this book click here for the book website.

Book Review: Normandy to Victory

Normandy to Victory : The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges and the First U.S. Army, by Major William C. Sylvan and Captain Francis G. Smith Jr. (edited by John Greenwood), is an important book on U.S. Army operations in the European Theater during World War II. Its greatest contribution is as resource for understanding many of the important operations of the war from the perspective of General Hodges and his headquarters. It is also valuable as a firsthand account of leading soldiers in battle at the field army level. This book is not for the uninitiated. Truly appreciating the detail, nuance, and its value as a primary source, requires grounding in the history of the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II. That said, for those with a serious interest in World War II history Normandy to Victory is a “must have” book.

Book Review: Schoolbooks and Krags

Schoolbooks and Krags:  The United States Army in the Philippines, 1898-1902.  John M. Gates.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood Press, 1973.

Gates is at his best discussing the American strategy.  He effectively describes how the two aspects of  the dual strategy of attraction and chastisement complimented each other.  The book begins with the efforts of General Otis, the first commander, who did not have the military strength to accomplish his mission, vague guidance from the President, and few intelligence sources.  Otis did not understand the strategy of the Philippine revolutionaries led by Emilio Aguinaldo.  None-the-less, the American army quickly defeated the Filipinos in the conventional phase of combat in 1899.  Gates then details how General Arthur MacArthur wrestled with the challenge of devising and executing a strategy aimed at defeating the Filipinos who had reverted to a deliberate stratagem of guerrilla warfare. MacArthur aimed at separating the insurgents from the civil population and then defeating them.  This strategy required close cooperation with William Howard Taft, the U.S. civil administrator in the islands, and pro-American Filipinos.  The book concludes with an analysis of how the entire strategy was almost undone by MacArthur’s replacement, General Adna Chaffee, as the Army, according to Gates, over-reacted to the Balangiga massacre.  This reaction included the brutal Samar pacification campaign under General Jacob H. Smith.

Read complete review here.

Book Reviews: Understanding Islam: An Introduction to the Muslim World; Inside Islam

Understanding Islam:  An Introduction to the Muslim World, by Thomas W. Lippon is a 1995 beginner’s guide to Islam and the Middle.  Lippman was the Washington Post Bureau Chief in the Middle East and he uses information gained through living and traveling through Islamic countries, as well as the words of the Holy Koran and other Islamic works.  The religion of Islam is a message sent by GOD to the Prophet Mohamed may peace be upon him (MPUH), and understanding Islam is not difficult but the majority in the West judge Islam through the acts of some Muslims who do not necessarily represent the Faith..  The author provides information about the rules of Islam and how some governments use Islam to show the right path for policy.   This book contributes to an understanding of Islam. I recommend this book to students that are interested in learning the basic information about Islam and interested in a book that talks fairly about other religions and cultures.

 LTC Abdullah Alsomad

The author of Inside Islam, Anne-Marie Delcamber, is a French citizen who holds doctorates in law and in Islamic Civilization. She is professor of Arabic at Lycee Louis-le-Grand, Paris. She has written many books that relate to Islam and the prophet Mohammed (peace upon him).  Since the events of 9/11, several books on Islam have appeared in bookstores. Two major trends characterize these books. On one hand are authors who seek with their work to facilitate genuine and critical discussions about Islam and its civilization devoid of religious and cultural polemics. The goal of these authors is to encourage dialogue between the Muslim world and the West.  On the other hand are works of authors notorious for their polemics, rather than substance. These authors have found, in the tragic incident of 9/11, an opportunity to spread deep-seated hatred, prejudice, and ignorance about Islam and Muslims. In the latter genre falls “Inside Islam” by Anne-Marie Delcambre.   As far as Delcambre is concerned, there is only one interpretation of Islam, fundamentalist Islam, which is about internalizing and practicing the prohibitions of juridical Islam.  “Inside Islam” is not a work of scholarship, but a collection of personal views, mostly bordering on bigotry, racism and ignorance disguised as academic research. It is a work of ‘selective justice.’ I don’t recommend the book for students who want to learn about Islam in particular and Middle East issues in general.

MAJ Ahmed Ambu-saidi

Book Review: The Arab-Israeli Wars

I personally enjoyed reading the book The Arab-Israeli Wars by Chaim Herzog.  I would recommend this book for anyone seeking to learn more about the Arab-Israeli Wars and the people and politics that have been involved between Israel and its Arab neighbors.  The book offers a detailed account of every war and conflict Israel faced between 1948 and 1981 and provides invaluable insight and analysis as to the root causes of conflict.  In conclusion, the book is well written and the author is extremely well qualified to have written this book and is still regarded by many as the best single source of information on the Arab-Israeli Wars. 

MAJ Brady Gallagher

Note:  The latest Edition (pictured) carries the history though the 1990s.

Book Reviews: A Peace to End All Peace; The Gamble.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Peace to End All Peace, and highly recommend it to someone that wants to read a comprehensive history of the Middle East from 1912-1922.  I enjoyed the fact that even though this is an academic history book, that it reads like a good story.  The author does a pretty good job of telling the reader about the personalities and motivations behind the actions of the major players in the Middle East.  The thing that I found difficult about this book was its complexity at times.  I think that this is less a function of the writer, and more a function of the actual complexity of what was going on in this region.  The title of this book is telling, since the competing domestic and foreign politics, and realities of enforcing the peace settlements in the Middle East set the stage for the turmoil and persistent conflict in the region.  I would recommend this book to anybody who wants to know the truth about the origins of the modern Middle East and go beyond the mantra that, “It’s all Great Britain’s fault…..”

MAJ Wayne Wilson, USAF

 

 

The Gamble is an easy read, well written, and hard to put down once you start it. The author- Mr. Ricks has done an excellent job of exhaustively researching his facts, interviewing key players, presenting the material in a clear and concise manner, and providing a stark contrast to the current state of the affairs in Iraq vice the state of affairs in Iraq in 2006. His previous book- The Fiasco provides the author with the capacity to discern the true nature of the current situation. Readers clearly understand that Mr. Ricks would not hesitate to criticize military leaders if criticism was appropriate.  The Gamble is a must read for all field grade officers and provides unique insight into the development and practical application of revised counterinsurgency doctrine.  This book should be immediately incorporated into history classes at the Command and General Staff College ASAP.

 

MAJ Gary Holben, USAR

Book Reviews: Empire in the Sands; The Quranic Concept of War.

Empires of the Sand is a bold attempt to redefine the historical understanding of what forces were responsible for shaping the current Middle East from 1789 to 1923.  The Karsh’s contend that the European powers, as is widely accepted by most prominent scholars, were not the primary force behind the current tensions and issues that exist in the region. Instead, that the Middle Eastern powers were willing and active participants in establishing their current boundaries and bare the primary responsibility for its internal problems and volatile nature.  The European powers played a secondary role and without their support and assistance in defining the geographic boundaries of the region it would be less stable and divided into smaller and more contentious states.  I believe that while brilliant in presenting their data that they and their argument are historically inaccurate and biased.  I found the book one sided to the European powers while continually condemning the Arabs and Turks.  While they bear significant responsibility for their failures that led to the current state of the Middle East, this literary effort tries too hard to relieve European Colonialism of its role.

 

MAJ William Prayner, USA 

 

In the absence of real Islamic military doctrine, The Quranic Concept of War is the equivalent of the U.S. Army’s FM 3-0 Operations for Muslims searching for “divine guidance” on how to fight.  Allah K. Brohi, late Advocate-General of Pakistan, described Brigadier Malik’s work as “a comprehensive survey of the Quranic Approach to the Principles of War and Peace.”  According to the author the book outlines “a philosophy of war that is supreme and distinctive in all its angles and aspects.”  I did not make a direct connection between this book and terrorist ideology, but apparently many others have.  Publishers Mark Hanna and Patrick Poole said Malik’s book has “critical significance in the ideological foundations of the international jihadist movement” and indicated summaries of the book in various languages have been found on captured and killed insurgents in Afghanistan.  United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Myers, who reviewed Malik’s book for the Winter 2006-2007 issue of Parameters, said “Anyone charged or interested in the defense of reason and freedom of conscious [sic] should study the Quranic Concept of War for its intellectual and strategic ramifications.” 

 

MAJ Patricia McPhillips, USA